Railway mail-exchanger.



G. HOLSOPPLE RAILWAY MAIL EXGHANGER. APPLICATION 111.111) AUG. 22, 1910.

984,814. Patented Feb.21,19111 GUY HOLSOPPLE, OF HOLLSOPPLE,PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY MAIL-EXCHANGER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 22, 1910.

Patented Feb. 21, 1911.

Serial No. 578,415.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUY HoLsorrLn, a citizen of Hollsopple, in thecounty of Somerset and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Railway Mail-Exchangers, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to an improved rai1- way mail exchangingapparatus, and its object is to provide a satisfactory device for theconvenient and mutual exchange of light or heavy mail and the like withmoving trains with minimum damage to the articles exchanged, and ischaracterized by extreme efiiciency and simplicity in construction.

The predominating feature of the apparatus is: that, instead of makingthe exchange of mail-bags by having them come in direct contact withtheir respective rigid catching-devices, as is the case in devices nowcommonly used, the mail-bags are secured to the lower end of a longsuspended cable and the exchange is made by catching the upper end ofthe cable on the outer end of a swinging arm as the car passes. In sodoing the mail bags are left free to describe an easy swinging motion,which greatly reduces the impact, a result especially desired in theexchange of heavy mail with swiftmoving trains.

A preferable embodiment of the invention is shown herein and will beunderstood by the accompanying drawings and the following descriptionand claims.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a section of a railwaymail car, with the parts in operative position for the mutual dischargeand receipt of mail-bags. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of the upperend of the cable with the node in section. Fig. 3 is an enlargedperspective view of the spring washer; and Fig. 4 is a plan view of theouter end of the arms 2 as seen in Fig. 1.

The numeral 1, Fig. 1, represents the body of a mail car having thecombined delivering and receiving device or arm 2 perpendicularly hingedto the eyes 3 and 3, which are secured to the outer wall of the car nearthe upper forward corner of its side door and in a manner permittingsaid device or arm to extend outwardly from the car and to swingsubstantially in a horizontal plane under impact. A spring washer 4 isplaced between the upper eye 3 and the nut 5, which is threaded on theangular inner end of the device or arm 2 so as to frictionally resist atoo easy swinging of the device or arm. A hook 7 projects outwardly fromthe outer end of the arm 011 which the eye 8 formed on .thesphericalstop or node 9 is adapted to releasably hang, thus suspending therefromthe cable 10 to which the stop or node is secured. The cable has formedat its lower end a loop 12 to which the mail bags 141 are attached bythe band 13, and are releasably suspended by the loop from the hook 11,located on the outer wall of the car near the lower forward corner ofits side door.

A track standard 15 is located beside the track and has hinged to it thereceiving device or arm 16 by the eyes 3 and 3 in a manner permitting itto extend trackward and to swing substantially in a horizontal planeunder impact. A spring washer 1' is also attached to it by the bur 5similar to and for the same purpose as that of the spring washer 4:,above indicated.

The arm 16 is adapted to lie in a plane slightly below that of the arm 2with its outer end under-lapping the outer end of the arm 2 when inoperative positions. The arm 16 has its outer end curved aboutrearwardly forming a jaw or bight 17, and when the arm 2 passes over thearm 16. the upper part of the cable, at a point slightly below the stopor node, strikes the rearward edge of the arm 16 at a point slightlyinward from the opening of its jaw or bight, then in the forwardmovement itpushes the arm 16 forwardly. The cable slides outwardly alongthe edge of the arm and enters the jaw or bight. The cable is pulledfrom the device or arm 2 and is drawn downwardly through the jaw orbight until it reaches the stop or node, which is too large to slipthrough the jaw or bight. Thus the mailbags are pulled from the hook 11and are permitted to swing gracefully around to the rear of the standard15 to be removed by the local operator. Instead of the jaw or bightsbeing constructed with the usual V- shaped mouth with the two branchesof the V about equal in length, the out-ward branch. is considerablyshortened, being only of sufiicient length to form the base, or the jawor bight proper, and it is curved about spirally as indicated in thedrawing, Fig. 2, to prevent the accidental displacement of the cableafter it has once entered into the jaw or bight proper, thus avoidingthe use of a detent spring for the purpose. The bag holding jaws are inthe form of flat spirals, so

that the terminals of the jaws will act as guards to prevent theaccidental removal of the bags, under the influence of the momentumimparted thereto by the rapidly moving trains, and these terminals aredirected inwardly so that the linear thrust of the bags will beconverted into a rotary motion, thereby dissipating the force of thethrust. The trackward, or inner branch of the V is, of course, long,consisting of the device or arm itself which the cable strikes beforeentering the jaw or bight proper. Then, instead of the cables deviatingfrom its path to follow along on the arm, to the jaw or bight proper,the device or arm itself is pushed forwardly on its hinge by the cable.and the jaw or bight proper swings into line with the cable and theresults are as above indicated.

A track standard 18 is also located beside the track distantly forwardfrom the standard 15 and carries a delivery device or arm 19 adapted toextend traekwardly therefrom in a plane slightly above that of the arm 2and with its outer end overlapping the outer end of the arm 2 when inoperative position. The arm 19 has a trackwardly extending hook 20located on its outer end from which another cable 10, having attachmentssimi lar to those of the cable 10 above described, is adapted toreleasably suspend, while the mail-bags 14: which are attached to thecable are suspended by the loop 12 from the hook 21 of the trackstandard.

In order that the device or arm 2 may be used as a cable-catching arm aswell as a oable-holding arm, its outer end is curved about forwardlyforming a jaw or bight 6 similar to that of the jaw or bight 17 abovedescribed. The train operator, upon approaching the place of exchange.holds the device or arm 2 rigidly outward from the car until it haspassed the arm 16 and has been relieved of its cable and the attachedmail-bags; and when the device or arm 2 reaches the arm 19, the operatoryieldingly allows the device or arm 2 to move rearwardly under thepressure of the cable 10 of the track standard 18. The cable enters thejaw or bight 6 by an operation similar to that of the arm 16 abovedescribed, the mail bags are similarly pulled from the hook 21 oft-hetrack standard and are permitted to swing rearwardly across the sidedoor of the car to be pulled into the car and removed by the trainoperator.

The device may be readily adapted to opcrate in either direction on thesameside of the track. To do so, a track-standard, similar in equipmentto that of the standard '18 above described, is placed on either side ofthe standard 15. The devices or arms 2 and 16 are each furnished withtwo j aws or bights, one opening on either side of each device or arm,anda pair of eyes 3 and 3, and a hook 11 are placed in correspondingpositions respectively on either side of the side door of the car sothat the device or arm 2 may be readily transferred from one set of eyesto the other by removing the nut 5 with the spring washer t and usingthem in the readjustment of the device or arm.

In order that the cables may be used interchangeably, they and theirrespective attachments are constructed of uniform dimensions and thedistances between the outer end of each cable-holding arm and therespective bag-holding hooks are uniform.

lVhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: r

1. A mail bag handling device comprising a mail bag receiving arm havingflat spiral bag holding means thereon.

2. A. mail bag handling device comprising means having a flat spiral bagholding jaw thereon.

3. A mail bag handling device comprising means for supporting a mail baghaving a horizontally disposed flat spiral bag holdlng jaw.

at. Amail bag handling device comprising supporting means having ahorizontally disposed flat spiral bag holder.

5. A mail bag handling device comprising a horizontally swinging bagholder having a flat spiral jaw and adapted to be carried by a car and aflexible cable having a stop on one end adapted to engage the flatspiral jaw of the bag holder and having bag securing means on the otherend.

6. A mail bag handling device comprising a flexible cable adapted to besecured at one end to a mail bag and provided with a stop, and bagreceiving means having a flat spiral jaw for attachmentto a car forengaging the flexible cable and the stop and adapted to permit a bagsecured to said flexible cable to swing toward the car.

7. A mail catcher comprising an arm with one of its ends frictionallyhinged to a support in a manner permitting it to swing in a horizontalplane under impact and adapted to extend outwardly therefromsubstantially in a horizontal plane and at right angles to the railroadtrack, having formed atits outer end a bight with the mouth thereofopening in the direction of the approaching mail bags to be caught andin a manner adapted to engage therein a cable to which the mail-bags areattached, that is held uprightly in its path; said arm having also meansfor swinging and holding same into or out of its operative position, allsubstantially as alleged.

S. A mailbag handling device comprising a horizontally swlnging armhaving a flatspiral jaw and a flexible cable having a spherical stop atone end to engage the jaw and adapted to be secured at the other end toa mail bag.

9. In a mail bag handling device, a swinging arm having a spiral andhorizontally disposed flat spiral terminal jaw, a flexible cable adaptedto be secured to a mail bag having a stop to engage the jaw, and meansfor supporting the cable in position to be engaged by the terminal jawof the arm.

10. In a mail bag handling device, a swinging arm having a flat spiralhorizontally disposed jaw, means for supporting the arm 011 a car forhorizontally swinging movement, and a bag supporting member adapted tobe engaged by the spiral jaw.

11. In a mail bag handling device, a swinging arm mounted for horizontalmove ment and formed with a flat spiral jaw having its mouth disposedlaterally of the arm, and bag supporting means having a stop thereon andadapted to engage the jaw.

19. In a mail handling device, a swinging arm having bag holding meansthereon, said arm being formed with an angular end, an

eye for supporting said arm for swinging,

movement, a nut threaded on the angular end, and a spring washerinterposed between the eye and the nut on said angular end.

13.111 a mail bag exchanger, a car carried device comprising a bagsupporting member having a hook thereon for supporting a bag to bedelivered and a spiral jaw for receiving a bag, and means for supportingthe member for swinging movement; and a stationary device comprising asupport, an arm swingingly mounted on the support and formed with aspiral jaw; and a bag support comprising a flexible cable adapted to besecured at one end to a mail bag and having a stop on the other end andan eye extending from the stop, the stop being adapted to engage thejaws of the car carried member and the stationary arm.

14. In a mail bag exchanger, a car car ried mail bag delivering andreceiving device comprising, eyes, an arm mounted on the eyes forswinging movement, means for securing the arm to the eyes, a supportadapted to be secured on a car below the arm, said arm being providedwith a spiral jaw extending from the end thereof and a hook extendingfrom said jaw, and a cable of flexible material having a stop on one endto engage the spiral jaw and an eye to engage the hook extending fromsaid jaw and means on the other end to engage support and to be securedto a mail bag.

15. In a mail bag exchanger, a car carried device comprising a swingingarm having a terminal spiral jaw and a hook, a bag holder consisting ofa flexible cable having a stop on one end and an eye adjacent the stopand a loop 011 the other end, said loop being adapted to be secured to amail bag, and a support located below the arm adapted to engage the loopand hold the bag carried by said cable against swinging; a stationarysupport, a swinging arm carried by the support and provided with aspiral terminal jaw adapted to engage the cable and the stop thereof;and a second stationary support located distantly from the firststationary support and having an arm pro vided with a terminal hookadapted to hold a bag supporting cable so that the stop of said cablewill be engaged by the terminal jaw of the car carried arm.

16. A mail bag exchanger comprising, a stationary support, an arm havinga spiral terminal jaw, means for securing the arm to the support forswinging movement, a friction member mounted on said arm for preventingthe tree movement thereof under impact; a bag supporting memberconsisting of a flexible cable having means on one end to be secured toa mail bag and a stop and eye on the other end, said stop being adaptedto engage the spiral terminal jaw; a second stationary support locateddistantly from the first stationary support and provided with an armhaving a terminal hook adapted to engage the eye of said cable andreleasably support said cable thereby, a support on said secondstationary support adapted to hold a mail bag carried by said cableagainst swinging; and a car carried device comprising a swinging armhaving a spiral terminal jaw and a hook adjacent said jaw, a supportlocated below the arm, and a second flexible cable havinga stop on itsupper end to engage the terminal jaw of said last arm and an eye toengage the hook thereof, the hook of said last arm being adapted to holdthe second cable in position to be delivered to the first arm, saidcable being adapted to be secured to a mail bag at its lower end andhaving means to engage the support of the car carried device, wherebythe mail bag carried by said second cable will be held against swinging.

17. In a mail bag exchanger, a mail bag supporting arm having ahorizontally disposed flat spiral terminal jaw adapted to hold a mailbag, the terminal of said jaw being directed inwardly to act as a guardtherefor and prevent the accidental removal of a mail bag supported bythe jaw.

18. A mail bag exchanger comprising a .cable arranged at one of its endsfor attachment to a mail bag and having a node secured at the other end,a delivery arm for releasably supporting the node, and a support for themail bag located remotely below the arm; in combination with a catchercomprising an arm with one of its ends frict-ionally hinged to asupportin a manner permitting it to swing in a horizontal plane underimpact and adapted to extend outwardly therefrom substantially in ahorizontal plane and i atright angles to the line of travel, said arinhaving fol-med on its outer end a spiral jaw with themouth thereofopening on the side of the arm toward the direction of delivery and in amanner adapted to engage the cable.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to these sij'ecificatlens in"the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

GUY HOLSOPPLE.

Witnesses 2 JAMES H. CLEAR, R. MCGLUEMER.

